Safety catch



June 7, 1927. 1,632,824

F. W. J-CDNES SAFETY CATC H Filed Aug. 20, 1,926

/3 1N VEA/'roleA Patented June 7, 1927.

i 1,631,824- NITED STAT-*Es .Qrricrz-.-

rnacvar. w. Jonas, or WARWICK, mronnisnann, Asslenon To LOUIS STERNcoureur, or rnovinnucr., RHODE IsL-ANpyA fooRroRfATroN ormro'nnasiatici).v

SAFETY CATCH.

Application filed August 20, 1926. Serial'.1\}'o..130,4 47.v

preventing accidental detachment of the ends oit the bracelet.

A further object of this invention` is to provide a yoke member, havinga portion swingable -into proximity with the manually 'l0 operablefinger-piece for. detaching theclasp for obstructing accessthereto.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a yoke member onone end Vof the bracelet to hook overa protuberance erfinger-'piece onthe opposite lendn of thevbracelet withV means to secure the yokek in 1its hooked overlocked position. r

lVVith these and othery objects inview,lthe invention consists ofcertain novel features ci construction, as willbe more ,fully1described, and particularly pointed outn the appended claims'. i

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure '1' is aside elevation'of the safety clasp equipped with alocking device, with a wristwatch 'and bracelet '.-illustratedA ondotted lines;

Figure 2 is a perspective View of the locking member. 30 Figure 3 is aperspective view of the lockof bracelet. y

Figures is a perspective view of the resilient` tongueV and-i'nger-piece vvfor operating the same which engages 'the 'opposite endlink of the bracelet to releasably "'se'curethe two ends ofthe bracelettogether.

Figure' 5' is a 'sectional side elevation of the locking` memberyandfend'link carrying the same, showing the locking member in raised orunlocked position.

Figure 6 is asectional' side elevation of the Ztongue of the clasp and'en'dilink carry-r ing the same.

ythe wearer.

inv memberattached: to oney of the fend links Figure 7 is a sectionalside elevation 'of f a watch bracelet'of the type ,havinggiend hooks tobe snapped through `thebails of 'a wristwatch, that continuedattachmentiand detachment ot the end' hoo rs causes 'the same `to breakorbecome so sprung that loss of the 'watch 'and its bracelet occurs.

v It is*r also found `in bracelets of suiicienty expansion to withdrawthe watch and1braceletover the hand of the wearer thatcontinuedeXpa-n'-,`

sion of thebracelet for this purpose causes undue strain onthe springs.

which the,4 watch bracelet 'may be easily.

separated to Vbe removed from the wrist of Itis also found desirable tosecure such aclasp positively'against accidental moveation thereof, thuspreventing accidentalopening of. the: clasp .to release the ends of 'thebracelet.Y And, in order toI makethe lock additionally secure, *I haveprovided r'ecess andidetenty means betweeny the walls of the braceletandthe locking. member so that Y the locking member maybe snapped andAnd, in order f yto obviate these undesirable effects, so-

frictionally4 held. in its lockir'igi position, and

the following is a detailed description vof* the presenty embodiment yofmy invention, showing one means by whichY these`l advantageous resultsmay be accomplished Withreference to drawings, 10 designates theendllinkY of one' vofthe bracelet partsv which -is shown assubstantial-ly box-shaped, with a slotflQ and an inturned lipv orvflange 11 to actas a catch fork the resilient tongue.'

The opposite kend link' 13 of the-bracelet part is provided with aresilient tongue-14, the

to hold thefenidlinks together. y

A `inger-piece 16 'is carried by the tongue 14' andl is located: andguidedvlin the slots 12 andl'fby means of which the tongue; 14 may edge15' of whichengages the inners'ideof the catch or liange 11, as showninFigurei?, :10U

at 20 to the end link 10, the opposite or free ends of which are securedtogether by means of a bridgepiece 2l, which is provided with a slot Q2to receive the nger-piece 16. The locking member or yoke is alsoprovided with projections or detente 23 which may be snapped intorecesses 24 in the side walls of the end link 13 to securely hold thelocking member in-its locking position.

It will be noticed, especially in Figure 10, that the bridge-piece 2llies above the surface of the finger-piece 1G, thus preventingaccidental pressure being transmitted to the .tinger-piece 16 fordetaching purposes. Also, it will be seen that the bridgepiece hooksover the finger-piece to resist Oppositely di rected endwise strains,and also that the detent and recess means securely hold the yoke memberand the end of the bracelet to which it is attached tothe opposite endoi' the bracelet to additionally secure the brace let ends together'.

VThe locking member not only prevents operation of the clasp fordetaching the end links of the bracelet, but also of itself secures theend links of the bracelet together. It will be apparent that detachmentof the bracelet end may be had byinerely raising the locking yoke, thebridge oiu which is turned upwardly slightly as at to permit readyaccess of the finger nail, the same being swingable on its pivots 2O tothe raised position shown in Figure 3 to permit operation of theingenpiece for releasing Ithe clasp as heretofore described. l

The foregoing description is directed solely towards the constructionillustrated, but I desire it to. be understood that I Vreserve theprivilege of resorting to all the mechanical changes to which the deviceis susceptible, the invention being deiined and limited only Aby theterms of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. In an ornamental chain, including terminal links, a compressible partcarried by one of said links, and a catch part carried by the other ofsaid links and engageable with the compressible part when noncompressed,a linger-piece carried by said coii'ipressible part for operating thesame, a yoke having arms hinged to the sides of one oli the terminallinks of the chain and swingable over the finger-piece to prevent manualmanipulation of the linger-piece ior detaching the terminal links 0f thechain, l

2. In an ornamental chain including terminal links, a compressible partcarried by one of said links and a catch part carried by the other ofsaid links and engageable with the compressible part when noncompressed,a lingerpiece carried by said compressible part for operating the same,a yoke with an opening therein and having arms hinged to one of theterminal links to swing about an axis transverse of the chain to receivethe "inger-piece in said opening to prevent manipulation of saidlinger-piece for detaching the terminal links of the chain.

3. In an ornamental chain including terminal links, a compressible partcarried by one of said links, and a catch part carried by the other ofsaidv links and engageable with the compressible part whennoncompressed, a l'ingenpiece carried by said compressible partforoperating the same, a yoke having arms hinged to the sides of one of thetermi nal links of the chain and swingable over the linger-piece, anddetent and recess means between said yoke and the other of the terminallinks for securing the yoke in locking position. Y l 4f. In anornamental chain including ter minal links, a compressible part carriedby one of said links, and a catch .part carried by the other of saidlinks and engageable with the compressible part when noncompressed,

a linger-piece carried by said compressible part for operating the same,a pair of arms pivoted at one end to the side walls of the terminal linkhaving the catch part, and a bridge-piece connectingy the opposite endsof said arms .andadapted to swing over said yfinger-piece to .preventdetachment of said terminal links.

5. In an ornamental chain including terminal links, a compressible partvcarriedby one of saidlinks, and a catch part carried by the other ofsaidilinksand engageablewith the compressible part when noncompressed,

a linger-piece carried by said compressible part for operating the same,a pair of' arms pivoted at one end to the side Walls of one of saidterminal links, a bridge-piece connecting the opposite ends ol said armsand having a notch to receive said linger-piece, and frictional recessand detent means between said arms and one of the terminal links forreleasably holding said bridge in locked position. Y

6. In an ornamental chain including ter minal links, one of said linkshaving notches in itsvside walls and a compressible part, a

